A woman in her early 20’s called Lila was walking down an old dirt road. She was looking cold and merciless as usual, even the red rose in her hair didn’t make her look friendly. Lila was a heartless woman. She didn’t like people and showed no emotion to anyone. She didn’t really care about anyone and only looked out for herself. She was a traveler and like all travelers, she always carried her weapon. A bow and arrows. She always carried them around as a tool, or a weapon. She walked off the path to cut through the forest to get to the next town sooner. She stood in place as she heard something coming from the forest. Lila pulled out her bow and drew an arrow, aiming it into the forest as she took a few steps closer.

A little wolf pup jumped out of the forest! Lila didn’t know what to expect, but this definitely wasn’t it. The wolf pup started running around and barking at her. He was as energetic as a five year old kid who ate a spoonful of sugar. Lila hesitates for a minute, but she drew back her arrow and puts away her bow and arrow. The little wolf doesn’t look like that much of a threat, he was alone, he was too small to have a lot of edible meat. To Lila, she would lose more from killing him than what she would get back. 

Lila walks into the forest and sees the wolf pup following her. Again, Lila thought killing the pup would cost her more than what she could pay for. So she just kept on walking trying to deal with the company of the wolf. The forest appeared to have had a party last night! Twigs and leaves scattered everywhere, broken branches in bushes and a few small fallen trees. Whatever hit this forest hit it hard. Suddenly, Lila felt a drop of water land on her nose, but she was standing in a small opening so it wasn’t droplets in leaves. Lila looked up to see the orange sky. This meant the sun was setting and it was going to rain, the safe thing to do is to build a lean-to.

Lila wasted no time! Lila saw a nearby tree that fell onto a rock, that was a good start. She immediately started grabbing long sticks and started laying them on the side of the fallen tree. Once she made a wall of sticks on one side of the tree, she started grabbing pieces of bark and placed them on the sticks so no water would get in. Once she was done, she could already see dark clouds. It was dark without the sun. Lila went into her little lean-to and tried to sleep through the rain. Emphasis on tried. The little wolf pup was jumping and running around barking all over the place. Lila couldn’t sleep. She just stayed there and waited for the night so she could sleep.

In doing so, it brought her back to a memory. When she was just a little girl she made her first lean-to with her grandpa. She did have parents but liked spending time with her grandpa whenever she could. They went camping and didn’t bring a tent. So her grandpa showed her how to make a lean-to. Lila did it well, she was almost a natural. Night came, and she couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t as safe as a tent and she was shivering like a leaf in high wind. Until she felt a warm cloth fall onto her. Her grandpa, who was sleeping behind him, took his jacket off and laid it over him and her. She felt safe. She felt warm. She felt happy. She finally went to sleep. Lila Snapped back into the present and held the jacket that was now hers.

It was night and it was intense. It poured down, buckets after buckets of water. Lila made her lean-to well so she didn’t get wet, what bothered her was the wolf pup who was still following her. He was sitting outside the lean-to and making small howls, growls and barks which didn’t help Lila get any sleep. To Lila, a bear could break her lean-to and attack her and she wouldn’t care. The longer she was up, the more things she heard. She heard a snap among the hard rainfall, then a few more snaps here and there. Noises started to echo threw the rain as well. Howls, chirps and more snaps. None of this was a surprise, a forest is a common home to all animals. 

This was one of the most unpleasant things Lila had ever been through. After a while though, the wolf pup stopped and went to sleep all curled up. Lila also noticed that the noises had stopped. Lila was a little baffled, until she realized something. Was the wolf pup trying to scare the other creatures away? Lila felt differently about the wolf pup now. She went to sleep soundly that night. Lila woke up to see the wolf pup outside the lean-to, digging into a pile of berries. Little guy must have been hungry, he didn’t stop for nothing. Lila walked out to see an apple next to the wolf. Lila picked it up and stared at the wolf pup. He didn’t react. Did he get the apple for her? She didn’t question it. She took a bite and it tasted sweet.

Lila finished the apple and petted the wolf on the head as a means of thank you. She continued walking through the forest to get to the town she was planning to get to. The wolf pup still followed her, but Lila didn’t care. She flashed a small smile. She didn’t understand why the little wolf was helping him, but it felt nice to have someone having your back. Finally, Lila reached the end of the woods and reached the town she was planning to get to. Surprisingly, the wolf was still following Lila even when she entered the town. Lila realized this and thought about something for a minute. Stopping in her tracks with a puzzled look on her face. Lila started walking again but in a different direction then she planned. She went to a food stand and went up to the guy behind the stand. “Do you have anything for this little guy?”, Lila asked with the wolf pup in her hands.

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The little wolf pup stuffed his face with a bowl full of meat bits small and tender enough for a young wolf to chew threw and swallow. He enjoyed the meat. It was the tastiest meat he’s ever eaten. Lila walked behind the wolf pup with a knife she bought at a shop. It was attached to her left leg thigh in such a way no one would be able to see it under the skirt she’s wearing. She pet the wolf pup on the head to let him know they were going. He ran past Lila’s leather boots and to the exit of the town. Lila just walked and from a far, her wolf pup didn’t look as small as he used to. Was he…did he grow? No, that’s impossible. She was probably misremembering his size. She didn’t get a good look at him in the forest anyway. They left and started walking on the path, planning to stay on it cause the destination Lila was trying to reach could only be reached via the path. She still held that cold look on her face, but shifted to a smile when she shot a glance to her wolf pup. He definitely looked the same size. Or so she thought.

She kept walking with him by her side but stopped when she looked and didn’t see him. She looked behind her and saw him looking up at a pear hanging from a tree. She went back to get him and looked at the pear quickly. She couldn’t reach it at her height, but she could with a little more length. She grabbed her little wolf pup and lifted him up to the pear he was eyeballing and he grabbed the fruit he desired. The little wolf smiled and took a bite out. It reminded Lila of her grandpa, how he picked her up in front of a tree just to get a piece of fruit from a tree. Those were simpler times. Times Lila cherished as time moved on. She stopped daydreaming and saw the wolf holding the pear to her face. He wanted her to have some. She put him down and ate some of the pear, then gave what was left to the wolf pup.

She kept walking and heard her wolf pup’s footsteps. They were getting…heavier. Lila looked back, and she was in shock. He was bigger! He looked like a young wolf, not a pup anymore. She thought she was seeing things, so she closed her eyes for a few seconds and opened them again. Only to see the same thing. The wolf was acting like nothing was wrong and that things were normal. She didn’t have time to think, cause she heard a snap and a low growl. Lila pulled out the knife that was strapped on her leg while the wolf looked around with his teeth out. Silence. Then ROOOOAR!!!

A bear jumped out from the side! Lila sprinted forward while the wolf jumped back. The human immediately ran to the bear’s side and stabbed the bear in his side, but it did almost nothing as it filled the bear with rage! Lila jumped back with her grip held strong on the blade, dodging a claw swipe from the bear. She ran into the forest behind the brown furred animal in the hope of losing it or getting the jump on him. She hid in a big bush, waiting for the golden moment to strike. She waited, she listened, and prepared to attack. But almost nothing. It was like the bear left, but Lila stayed where she was for a while more.

After a few minutes, she heard the bear let out a mighty roar! But, this roar ws different. It sounded like a roar out of pain. She got out of the bush and looked past a tree. She saw her wolf on the bear’s back, biting down on his neck! She saw the wolf jump off the bear and run away, the bear followed the gray wolf soon after. Lila rushed behind another tree to move closer. She heard nothing but still stayed on alert and waited for a while. She was getting worried about her wolf, so she decided to risk it and run towards the same direction the animals ran to. However she stopped as a russell came out of the bush.

Lila’s wolf walked out and she was in shock. Her wolf looked even older! As old as an adult. He was covered in scars on his paws, legs, back, a cut on his left ear, and a slash on his right eye. Lila put her knife away and took a knee to get a better look at him. He didn’t seem to notice or mind the marks on his body. This shouldn’t even be possible! The fact he’s growing up so quickly and that he got so many scars without bleeding. What shocked her the most was that despite being scared all over, he was still as happy and joyful as he was when he was a pup. Despite her concern, everything was alright. The bear seemed to be gone but Lila didn’t want them to stay and find out. She and her wolf ran back to the path and kept running without looking back. Lila still had questions, but she knew better than to stick around and think of possible answers. Plus, she didn’t want her wolf to get hurt.

After a few minutes of walking to catch their breath from the hour-long run they did, Lila and her wolf finally reached their destination. A small but bustling village that stood far from a cliff. Lila’s village.

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Lila and her wolf walked through the entrance and caught a few looks. Not many people came to her childhood village so it was a shock to see a woman walk in with a wolf by her side. However this was a village where almost everyone knew each other. When some people realized it was Lila, they calmed down. Lila was known as someone who wouldn’t do something dumb and reckless, so no one panicked when they saw the wolf with her. Lila walked past many people but didn’t greet them. She didn’t even take a glance. Correction, she did take one glance. Not at a person. At a house. It was pretty big and had two floors, not counting the attic. It was her parents house. She loved them when she was a little girl and they loved her too. However they weren’t good parents, but they weren’t bad parents either. They didn’t hate her nor did they abuse or hurt her in any way. They just seemed dismissive of what it meant to a good mother and father, like being interested in what their daughter was doing or wanting to spend extra time with their kid. It’s why Lila liked spending time with her grandpa when she was older.

Her parents weren’t what she was here for. She kept walking with her wolf friend following behind her. She reached the other side of the village. She kept walking until she walked out of the village. She walked towards the cliff and came to a few tombstones. Some people were buried by the cliff so the deceased can still view the sunset, at least that’s what the people in Lila’s village said. The sun was indeed setting, and Lila was walking closer to the edge of the cliff until she came to a stop at a tombstone that stood all by itself. She got on her knees and read the inscription. It was her grandpa’s tombstone. She came cause today was the day he passed. She took the rose that she had in her hair and put it in front of his tombstone. She closed her eyes and stayed there with her thoughts. After a few minutes, her wolf behind her started howling. Lila didn’t mind. She kept her eyes closed and went further in her thoughts.

Lila remembered the last few times she spent time with her grandpa. They were laying on the grass on the same cliff, with less tombstones around. Lila was 13 at the time and was still childish. She thought she and her grandpa would always be together, how wrong she was. But she didn’t think of that at all. She didn’t even know! So she just layed next to her grandpa and spent time with him, like any other day. The gentle wind blowing thru the grass, the sound of birds chirping and flying, it was always calming for Lila. It felt even better when she was with the grandparent she adored. The sun was setting and night would fall soon, so the two got up to go home. As Lila’s grandpa was getting up with a little effort, she remembered a funny thing he said to her.

“They say when you leave, you come back as an animal. When I leave, I’ll come back as a wolf. They’re smart, caring, playful, and devoted to family. Just know that when I leave, Lila.”.

Lila opened her eyes slowly, realizing what he meant by that. She turned back on her knees and looked at the wolf that followed her. He was sitting directly behind her, he was looking directly at her. Lila and the wolf were at the same height. The wolf gave her a big smile and a small nod. A single tear rolled down Lila’s cheek. She immediately hugged her grandpa and he hugged her back with his paws rubbing her back. Lila’s breathing was unsteady, but she composed herself and spoke.

“Thank you for coming to me. I love you.”. Lila’s wolf grandpa pushes away from the hug and licks his granddaughter’s face. She smiled and kissed his forehead. He smiled, turned around and ran back. Past the village and back into the forest. Lila looked past the forest and into the sky, taking a long breath. She felt happy, content, and at peace thanks to the last moments she spent with her reincarnated grandpa.